Bredish
Clymene | totalspeakers = 4,200 native speakers3,700 in Clymene 200 in Seven 300 in Kings, Sylvania and Oceana; 4,300 L2 speakers | origin = English, Dutch, German Chinese, Scottish GaelicOnly minor influence | languagefamily = Germanic languages | writingsystem = Latin script | official = Clymene (regional minority language) | regulation = Brediẍ Talcommision (Bredish Language Commision) | iso1 = - | iso2 = - | iso3 = - | nicknames = | religion = }} The Bredish language (Bredish: Brediẍ Tal, Bredisx Tal, or Bredisgch Tal) is a language spoken in Clymene and areas of Seven. Bredish is a Germanic language, related to English. It is heavily influenced by Dutch, and to a lesser extent Chinese, German and Gaelic. Bredish has an official status in Lovia, like Oceana, but is mainly spoken in Clymene and parts of Seven. Its use is mainly concentrated in the northern part of the state, with a sizable community living in the village of Plains. A very small community also lives in Sofasi, though many in Sofasi have learned Bredish as a second language. The language originated in the 19th century, when Chinese guest workers came to Clymene and mixed with the predominantly English-speaking population. A creole of English and Chinese came into existence. This form of communication was consolidated in Clymenish everyday life and in some areas became a lingua franca, particularly among the poor, alongside the Clymenish dialect of Lovian English, which was more common among the upper classes and southern Clymene. The increasing population of Dutch and German immigrants in the state soon affected the new creole. A mix of German, Dutch and English dialects was spoken by these new colonists. Over the course of the years these languages integrated and borrowed from each other, becoming a distinct way of communication used only by inhabitants of Lovia. This sociolect was fueled by the Chinese presence in Clymene. This new linguistic layer covered the old Chinese-English creole, and became an accepted method of communication in the northern part of the state. Over time, a new language was born. However, by the mid 20th century, Bredish had begun to encounter increasing pressure from English, and gradually lost speakers and gained even more English influence until stronger preservation efforts emerged in the following decades. Bredish has influenced the Clymenish dialect of Lovian English a lot. Words like "mór" are used by non-Bredish inhabitants of Clymene too, and a lot of Bredish loan words have entered the Clymenish dialects. A distinctive Dutch-sounding accent is used by English-speaking inhabitants of Plains. History Precursors In the late 19th century, Chinese and Americans came to the Northern Territory (present-day Clymene) to look for work in forestry and other areas. These two populations developed a pidgin language to communicate with their new neighbors. This language was not used in formal settings however, and was only used when a native speaker of English encountered a native speaker of Mandarin Chinese. Later on, Mandarin Chinese and English culture began to merge in Clymene. The two cultures influenced each other heavily, and speakers of both languages borrowed heavily from each others vocabularies. This substrate of English with Mandarin Chinese influences became the way of communication among workers. German doctors and grocers who settled in Sofasi in the 1890s began to influence daily communication. A lot of words related to medicine and commodities began to be replaced by their German counterparts. A document from 1893, the Klymene residential notice, concerning the sale of certain alcoholic beverages, mentioned "bier" instead of "beer" and "maltz sic and hopfen" instead of malted wheat and hops. Early Bredish Around 1895, Dutch, German, Scottish and Swedish immigrants began to arrive in Lovia in large numbers. Many Dutch, German and Scottish immigrants (of which many spoke Gaelic) settled in Clymene during the gold rush, and they adopted the existing framework of language developed by the original Chinese and English immigrants. This hybrid of Germanic languages influenced by Mandarin Chinese and Gaelic became increasingly popular, as many people intermarried and public announcements and official documents often used many loan words. Because many non-English immigrants were not very proficient in English, but still held high positions in the local government or operated important businesses, a "broken" form of English became an increasingly prevalent way of communication. Standardization The cross-fertilization of these languages led to a situation where many people spoke a mixture of Dutch and English, with a borrowed English grammar and lots of culuturally dependent loan words. This "Britishe Taal" was condoned by the local government from 1901 onwards, to promote unity and a sense of autonomy. The Britishe Taal Commision, now the Brediẍ Talcommision, was founded in 1902 by Pieter Meertens. It occupied itself with standardizing and promoting the increasingly popular Bredish language. The orthography of the language was standardized in the late 1930s and in 1945 the "ẍ" was introduced. However, like Oceana, Bredish had by this time begun to suffer a loss of speakers to English, which resulted in a significant decline over the mid and late 20th century, and near extinction as a first language outside of Northern Clymene. The language is spoken by 4,200 people as first language nowadays, of which approximately 3,700 live in Clymene. A significant Bredish minority lives in Noble City. Geographic distribution . The highest percentages of Bredish speakers can be found in the northeastern part of Asian Island and near the hamlet of Feltmolen. Also note the legend is inaccurate.]] Bredish is spoken in the state of Clymene and the state of Seven. Its is spoken on Asian Island, Truth Island and in parts of Novosevensk. The highest percentages of speakers can be found in and around Plains and near the hamlet of Feltmolen. The lowest percentages of speakers within Clymene can be found in Adoha. The Bredish minority in Noble City is limited to Artista and Little Frisco. Traditionally, the geographical center of the Bredish language has been in Sofasi, but it shifted towards Plains over the course of the years. Bredish originated in Sofasi, but during the interbellum it decreased in popularity as there was a tendency among the elite to adopt proper English. During the 1930s, the lower class started to move to the north and to the region around Feltmolen. This led to an increase of Bredish speakers in those areas, while the total amount of Bredish speakers remained relatively stable due to a decrease of speakers in Sofasi and on Truth Island. Plains became the new cultural center of the Bredish language as of the early 1940s during WWII. The Chinese hamlets (Nóngyè and Xiandu) exercised a lot of influence on Bredish slang during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. A lot of new Chinese synonyms entered the vocabulary of the average Bredish speaker. These words can be distinguished from the original Chinese vocabulary in Bredish (that was introduced in the 1890s) by their spelling. Old Chinese words, like "kwei" and "hwade" were changed to fit the Dutch orthography, while new words, like wanwan (from Mandarin Chinese wànwàn, "absolutely") are largely similar to their true Chinese counterparts. Dialects Bredish can be subdivided into a couple of dialects: Sofasi Bredish, which approximates standard Bredish, Plains Bredish, Novosevensk Bredish, Mountain Bredish and Truth Island Bredish. Sofasi Bredish is considered the standard form of Bredish. The Gaelic-influenced Mountain Bredish and Plains Bredish are examples of Gaelic-influenced Bredish dialects. Novosevensk Bredish is characterized by a large number of Russian loan words and slang. In the region around the hamlet of Glesga, the extremely rare Bredish dialect Scotna Glesga is spoken. This creole of Bredish and Gaelic is one of the most difficult Bredish dialects, and it is slowly dying out. It is only spoken by a few elderly Glesgan residents nowadays. The Brediẍ Talcommision is in the process of recording and registering Scotna Glesga to preserve it for future generations. Culture Literature .]] A couple of writers utilize the Bredish language as a means of expression, most famously Joshua van Ravenswaaij, Bredish author and proponent of a Bredish autonomous state within Lovia. This author wrote a couple of classic Bredish works in the interbellum and during WWII, covering a range of topics, including fascism, the culture of the lower classes and Scottish immigrants. His most famous novel, Wyal syn die ooderen ven niedax (We are the adults of tomorrow) deals with his troubled childhood and explores themes like multi-ethnicity, racism, petty bourgeoisie (burlikhyt) and the remnants of a colonial era. This standard work is one of the first instances of written-down, standardized Bredish. Before Ravenswaaij, a multitude of spelling systems and regional dialects were used. As of the 1930s and with the advent of books like Scots xeesten (Scottish minds), Bredish started to be recognized as a proper, individual language. There are little to no notable Bredish authors. A close contender would be Sofasian poet Petrus Aloysius Maria Pernambucq (P.A.M. Pernambucq), who wrote in Dutch, English and Bredish. A couple of local writers also wrote/write in Bredish, but they never gained much popularity outside of the traditional Bredish-speaking areas of Clymene and Seven. .]] Bredish literature is characterized by an emphasis on the ethnical plurality of Clymene, the desolateness of the northern hamlets such as New Aberdeen, Glesga, Rosswood and Eastwood, and the ever-present poverty that is rampant in places like New Aberdeen and Plains. Many poems by Petrus Aloysius Maria Pernambucq and books by Joshua van Ravenswaaij deal with the Chinese history of the state, while others, such as Jian Sung-Sinclair, Gillian Shaw, Cees Munro and Liv Maria covered themes like the history of Nóngyè (Sung-Sinclair's novel Die chiltren ven uanhoop), the gold rush of the 1890s (Shaw's Blutsteen and Niedaxsuint), the pop music scene of Sofasi (Munro's Beats an die blutcoost) and feminism in Lovia (Maria's Stalinmannen) Bredish has a important oral history characterized by Dutch stories and customs. A lot of children's songs and old Scottish songs have influenced poets and writers, and a recurring theme is the concept of "Sinterklaas" (Dutch Santa Claus). Bredish literature is published by a couple of publishers, most notably the Brediẍ Talcommision itself, who aims to raise awareness of Bredish authors under the general Lovian public. Music .]] The hip-hop collective Beautiful Burnout uses the Bredish language in their lyrics. Related acts like Die Glasen Tooren and Keorge Gingma also sing in Bredish. The Bredish used by these music acts is heavily influenced by youth culture and English slang, and is a popular way of communication among Sofasi and Plains youth. It is currently catching on in Novosevensk and Adoha, and continues to be an important medium for rappers like Glitzch and Gill Kristus. The hamlets of Glesga, Nóngyè, Eastwood, Rosswood, Rosendorp and New Aberdeen are home to many aspiring folk musicians who sometimes sing in Bredish. Local community contests are filled with people who sing in Bredish. The Rosendorp Community Choir utilizes the Bredish language too, to great effect. A couple of musicians from Glesga revived the Scotna Glesga dialect for their songs. Glesgan musician George Vendescotsdorpe had a minor local hit with his Scotnan song "Pretn tusa ar anbyn, hoer dan 't cruin" (Pretend you are a mountain, higher than the sky) Sounds Vowels Before /r/ and /l/, the diphthongs /eɪ̯ øʏ̯ oʊ̯/ are monophthongised to /eː øː oː/. Consonants For most speakers, /ʍ/ and /w/ have merged. The pronunciation of /r/ varies between different speakers, the most common realisation being an alveolar tap or trill. Some speakers, particularly those whose native language is English, have an approximant instead. A small minority of Bredish speakers has a uvular r. Some speakers pronounce /x/ at the beginning of words as /ɣ/. Grammar Bredish grammar is very similar to English grammar in terms of sentence structure and idioms. Unlike English, Bredish verbs (and to a limited extent nouns) are declinated, using a system partly borrowed from German and Dutch. Word order and sentence structure Bredish employs a SUBJECT - VERB - OBJECT word order, except in subordinate clauses and relative clauses, when all verbs are grouped at the end. Bredish is mostly inflecting, but in some cases agglutinative. Prefixes and suffixes can be stacked on each other quite freely, and there are few rules that dictate how this is done: :"Dismórboy veloos de kweifrind" - The best friend (that we talked about) cycles to his girlfriend (were kwei, a Chinese loan word meaning "cute", changes the meaning of frind) Nouns Bredish nouns are classified in two groups: common and neuter. There are three articles: two definite and one indefinite. Prepositions are merged with articles in a few special cases: :de (to the) :inne (in the) :ute (out of the) Plurals generally end in -s, though there are some exceptions. A couple of modifying particles are used to indicate that a noun has a certain quality. The suffix -ie is used as a diminutive (sth is small). The prefix mór- is used as an augmentative (sth is big). Adding the prefix dis-'' indicates that a noun is "old information". This may be used as a substitute for the English word "this", but is used more frequently. The article is omitted when ''dis-'' is used. The contraction of prepositions and articles is also ignored when ''dis-'' is used. Compare: :"''Disman ẍin de huus" - The man (that we talked about before) went to the house. :"Die man ẍin na dishuus" - The man went to the house (that we talked about before). Pronouns Bredish makes a distinction between an inclusive "we" and and exlusive "we": this difference determines whether the speaker is including his public in "we" or not. For example, someone could say "wy kooke en maltyt", (we are cooking a meal) which means the people listening to the speaker are not participating, while "wyal kooke en maltyt" means the people listening to the speaker are in fact participating. Verbs In early Bredish, there were two possible inflection patterns for verbs: one based on the English and another one on the Dutch system. These are respectively known as the English conjugation and the Dutch conjugation. Originally the use of these two systems depended largely on the ancestry of the speaker, but from the early 20th century and onward a new system arose which mixed elements from both systems. The conjugation of a regular verb looks like this: Verbs are negated by the suffix -ent, which becomes -nt after a vowel. * i kook "I cook" -> i kookent "I don't cook" * jy praatde "you talked" -> jy praatdent "you didn't talk" * thi hebbe gewokd "they have walked" -> thi hebbent gewokd "they haven't walked There are several irregular verbs. Just like in all other Germanic languages, there are also quite a few strong verbs which have irregular past and perfect forms. Their conjugations will not be listed here but instead the dictionary will mention the irregular forms. The Bredish language uses a lot of suffixes, prefixes and particles close to verbs to express a certain attitude that goes along with the sentence. *''vanmy'' - something is personal knowledge :"Hy is vanmy en carpenter" - he is, to my knowledge, a carpenter *''ya'' - something is important :"Hy is-ya en carpenter" - he is, pay attention, a carpenterUsually, a stress is placed on "ya" *''som'' - something is futile or of little importance :"Sy is-som werker by mi" - She is a co-worker, but that doesn't matter. *''mór'' - something is good :"Hy mórschoos law school"- He made a good decision when choosing for law school *''kwei'' - something is cute, associated with love or sexual lust, funny or important to someone (e.g. a hobby or someones work) :"Hy kweikooks" - He loves cookingNote the fact that the literal translation of this sentence would be "he cooks lovingly" Numbers Writing system Orthography redish is written using the Latin script. All letters of the standard alphabet are used, although some -like the "k"- are only used sparsely. Due to the multitude of languages that influenced Bredish in some way, the orthography is not consistent and somewhat chaotic. Because the base orthography of English is already very flawed, Bredish orthography is characterized by exceptions and inconstistencies. /x/ is officially represented by a "x", but more commonly written like "gch". When preceded by a "s", a different rule applies: The diaresis is used to indicate that some vowels and the consonant "x" are pronounced differently. The unique consonant "ẍ" was introduced in 1945, to represent the double consonant /sx/. Previously, the way this combination of sounds was written down was not properly defined. A couple of different ways existed to write down this sound, such as "sg", "sgch", "sḡ" and "sg'". Sometimes, when a "ẍ" is not available, it may be represented by a "sgch" or a sx (some speakers elect to only use "sgch" or sx). The diaresis is also used on certain vowels (ä, ü, ö) to indicate that they're pronounced differently (as /æ y øʏ̯/ respectively) and on ë to indicate it should be pronounced separately from the preceding vowel (as in reën /reɪ̯ən/ "reason" vs. reen /reɪ̯n/ "rain"). An acute accent (á, é, í, ó, ú) indicates the long monophthongs /ɑː ɛː iː ɔː uː/ in some words, though there are several other ways of writing these sounds. /θ/ is occasionally written as "ṯ", though this is not official and therefore it is normally written as "th" instead. Because the use of diacritic marks is not mandatory, Bredish can be written with or without diacritic marks, and the writer can choose to omit certain diacritic marks, like the acute accent or the diaresis. Words can therefore be written in multiple ways: :Ṯi ẍin de österic :Thi sgchin (or ''sxin) de oesteric'' Most official documents and many formal texts are written using the diacritical system without "ṯ". This is also the system generally taught in schools. Despite this, the simpler, non-diacritical writing system is the most prevalent, especially among the younger generations. History Originally, before there was a standardised orthography, there were broadly speaking four systems in use to write Bredish, namely one based on English, another one based on Dutch, a purely phonetic one and an etymological spelling system. In practice, Bredish orthography was even messier as within each of these four systems there were quite a few possible variants and many people used mixed systems. During the first half of the twentieth century Bredish orthography was largely standardised, the standard orthography mostly being based on the etymological and phonetic systems. In 1911 the first steps toward this standard were made. In that year it was decided that the spelling should be based on etymology, but with a few simplifications. These included the substitution of Dutch ei/ij with "y" and English "gh" with "g", "f", or nothing, depending on pronunciation. A large majority of the Bredish speakers adopted this new standard, but many didn't like the use of "x" for /x/, instead preferring "g", "ch", "gch" or "gh". Another matter on which there was little agreement was how to write certain vowel sounds. Combined with the possibility to leave out diacritics most vowel sounds could be written in many different ways. For example, /eɪ̯/ could be written as any of "ee", "ei", "é", "ey", "a", "aa", "ai", "á", "ai", "ä" or "ae". So although the 1911 reform marked the beginning of the standardisation of Bredish spelling, it failed to create a uniform spelling for the language. An attempt to fix this was made in 1926. The Dutch way of representing vowels was mostly considered logical and therefore only the front rounded vowels, of which Dutch has four which in Bredish have merged into /y øʏ̯/, were changed to consistently be written as "ü" and "ö" respectively, as well as /u/, which in Dutch is written "oe", but was changed to "u" in Bredish to avoid confusion with "oe" as an alternative to "ö". English vowels on the other hand had undergone more mergers and were written down more messily to begin with, so they weren't left quite as untouched as the Dutch ones. For most vowels in words originating from English there were a few common ways of writing them down, which were generalised. The last remaining issue to fix was how to write down /x/. As mentioned before, this sound was officially written as "x", but many wrote it differently. Especially /x/ after /s/ was a problem, as many of those who did use "x" otherwise disliked the look of "sx" and other digraphs instead, such as "sg", "sgch" and "sgh". In 1945 the new letter "ẍ" was introduced to represent this combination of sounds, and at the same time the official spellings of many instances of /x/ was changed from "x" to "g". There were however some exceptions to this change, such as the minimal pairs between /x/ and /g/, e.g. xeen /xeɪ̯n/ "none" vs. geen /geɪ̯n/ "gain". Some speakers retain the "x" in places where it would not be replaced by the "ẍ", and a handful entirely retain it. Since 1945 the official spelling has not changed, but as some writers couldn't or didn't want to use diacritics, there has also been an unofficial, non-diacritical script in use. In 1982 the non-diacritic script was standardised and became an official alternative to the diacritical spelling. The diacritical spelling became known as the "preferred spelling" (geprefered spelling, GS) whereas the non-diacritical spellings is called the "simple spelling" (simpel spelling, SS). The old system (with sx) is still sometimes used, known as the "traditional spelling" (traditionel spelling, TS). Vocabulary Etymology Most Bredish words are borrowed from Dutch, with a large share of the vocabulary accounted for by English and German. A small set of commonly used words is borrowed from Gaelic, Swedish and Mandarin Chinese. Prepositions Bredish prepositions generally derive from English, with a few notable exceptions deriving from Dutch. Sometimes, two different prepositions are used to signify the same thing. In those cases, one stems from English, while the other derives from Dutch. An important example is "ven" and "of", that are both used to express a relation between two concepts. (English: "of"; Dutch "van"). This particular prepostion can also be used to determine where the speaker hails from: northern Bredish speakers generally use "ven", while southern (Sofasian) Bredish speakers and Bredish speakers on Truth Island and in Seven use "of". Sometimes, prepostions are merged with the article preceding a noun (see nouns). Sample texts The Universal Declaration of Human Rights . (courtesy of Ygo August Donia)]] Simple Bredish spelling: :Alle man sin boaren vry an elyk in digniti-aguz-regchts. Thi sin endout mee re-en an it ewetin, so thi wilt in brueder-gcheest sin mee elkander. Diacritical Bredish spelling: :Alle man sin boaren vry an elyk in digniti-aguz-rexts. Ṯi sin endout mee re-en an it ewetin, so ṯi wilt in brüder-xeest sin mee elkander. . (courtesy of Ygo August Donia)]] English translation: :All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. Notes Category:Language Category:Bredish Category:Clymene